16 staff members of Qatar’s emir arrested in Quetta

QUETTA: At least 16 members of the entourage of the Emir of Qatar were arrested by the Levies in Quetta for breaking the barrier of a checkpoint in Noshki district on Wednesday.

According to reports, an advance party of Qatar’s ruler was going to Mashkeel area for making arrangements of hunting the houbara bustard where Levies personnel flagged them down, but they ignored and accelerated their vehicles.

The entourage reportedly tried to escape by breaking the barrier. The security personnel immediately chased them and detained 16 people travelling in four vehicles.

“The arrested members of the Emir of Qatar’s staff, include three Bangladeshi nationals and 13 Pakista­nis,” an official of the district administration was quoted as saying in reports, adding that the four vehicles had been taken into custody.

Reuters adds: Last year, Pakistan’s Supreme Court lifted a ban on hunting the bird after the government argued it hurt relations with Gulf states whose wealthy hunters traditionally travel to Pakistan to pursue the endangered species with falcons.

To seek favor with communities on whose land they pursue prey, Arab hunters have built roads, schools and mosques in places like Balochistan and the province of Helmand in neighboring Afghanistan, while residents also benefit from the international-standard airstrips that can spring up.

New four-wheel-drive vehicles brought in for the hunt are sometimes left behind as gifts for regional leaders.

WATCH: Why do Qatari royal family members come to hunt houbara bustard Pakistan?